Sponsored Ads

2017-09-09

Aquarium owners enjoy the luxury of keeping fish and other underwater pets for pleasure. Since a properly maintained and presentable aquarium can entail investment, the fish lover is keen on perfectly displaying and enhancing the appearance of his pet. Animals and fish look best in their natural habitat. The environment of their natural habitat can be recreated within the aquarium by using aquarium backgrounds.

These backgrounds are available in various shapes, sizes, and colors depicting underwater natural scenes. They are made of materials which are not harmful to the fish and can be placed inside the aquarium or outside.

Benefits of having Aquarium Backgrounds

The backgrounds have several practical and aesthetic benefits. They are attractive decorative items that enhance the overall appearance of the aquarium by increasing its depth. By concealing the cable, tubes, and cords that clutter the back of the fish tank, they present a neat and natural look to the aquarium.

Inside an aquarium, algae build up rapidly in presence of sunlight. In bright rooms, the presence of background reduces direct sunlight resulting in control of algae.

Options for Choice of Aquarium Backgrounds

· First it is important to consider the size of the tank. Aquariums of smaller size will require backgrounds that do not occupy too much space inside the tank. Positioning decorative objects in the fish tank will encroach upon the space that is important for the fish.

On the lower price range, you can buy colorful aquarium background sticking labels that can be pasted externally at the back of the aquarium tank. These stickers or labels are available in different designs, portraying floral life and rocks. This is a perfect choice for those who cannot invest time for mounting a background for the aquarium. But if you are using internal backgrounds, which are higher on price, make sure that the material and paints used inside the fish tank are not harmful to the fish. Aquariums are delicate settings and can be easily polluted.

The next option is the three-dimensional aquarium backgrounds, which are cast into different shapes. They are made out of plastic, fiberglass or Styrofoam. Styrofoam and plastic backgrounds are suitable for small tanks, but the large saltwater aquariums use fiberglass backgrounds. Both the plastic and styrofoam backgrounds can also be cut into shapes for using them on other backgrounds of different sizes.

Fiberglass backgrounds are widely used in zoological displays and public aquariums. Fish lovers who own large saltwater fish tanks can buy tailor-made fiberglass backgrounds which will present a real look of underwater scenes. These backgrounds are fixed internally at the backside of the fish tank with aquarium silicone. This silicone is made especially for use in the aquarium.

As per Feng Shui principles, the presence of an aquarium can bring peace at home. It is also true that when we gaze at fish in an aquarium, it brings a feeling of calmness. Moreover, displaying aquariums with attractive backgrounds add up to the beauty of the aquarium. So, whichever option you choose for creating aquarium backgrounds, you will be definitely spending quality time and money on your favorite asset in your home.

2017-09-02

Aquarium plants are as important to aquariums as water is to fish. Aquarium plants add more life to aquarium and make it to look beautiful while completing the aquarium community structure.

The most important thing to bear in mind with plants is to form an attractive background, leaving ample space so the fish can swim undisturbed and be seen. The tall, grassy type is best planted at intervals in rows, while the feathery ones look better when they are bunched into small clumps, which makes them to appear like branching bushes.

When planting rooted plants, hold the tips of the bunch of roots between the thumb and second finger and rest them on the sand. Now with the first finger push the upper part of the roots (where they join the stem) about 2cm into the sand. Without moving this finger scrape with the thumb and second finger some sand over any uncovered portion of the root.

When putting in rootless plants in bunches, the method explained above is repeated, but this time the lower ends of the stems are placed together and treated exactly as if they were roots.

It is important that the water surface should be right up to the lower edge of the top angle iron of the tank, so that looking from the front the water surface can not be seen and the viewer gets the impression that there is no water in the aquarium. If the level is allowed to fall below the top angle iron the tank looks like a container holding water.

Aquarium Lighting is also important for aquarium plants

This depends greatly on whether you intend to successfully grow plants or not. Lack of light causes colorful fish to fade and clanch-reds to pink, green to white. The two main methods of lighting aquarium are by the INCADESCENT and FLOURESCENT.

The total amount of light required is a matter of trial and error. Too much light will turn the water green; too little will stunt plant growth.

The lighting can be natural or artificial or a combination of both. The best position is near a north facing window. This should provide the ideal amount of indirect lights which an be supplemented by artificial light.

The lighting should be housed in wood constructed stylishly with the furniture and placed above the tank. if there is no natural day light, the lights should be left on for approximately eight hours per day.

2016-04-10

There are some species of coral that can survive with the normal amount of lighting, so for the beginner, you may want to stick to these species. Specifically, Mushroom Coral and Coral Polyps can survive with normal lighting techniques.

Conversely, species such as SPS (Small Polyp Stony Coral) that include Acoropora, Montipora, Porites, Brain Coral, Bubble Coral, Elegance Coral, Cup Coral, Torch Coral, and Trumpet Coral require far greater intensity with lighting, making them a substantially greater challenge for the aquarium hobbyist, especially considering more light usually means more harmful algae will grow in the tank.

The best lighting technique to keep your coral safe is the light emitting diode (LED) technology, which has begun to make the former standards: gas and filament based lighting systems obsolete. Though initially more expensive then gas and filament systems, over time they save money because they use less power and have a longer lifespan, meaning less replacement costs and hassle.

It is important to note that the zooxanthellae’s photosynthesis process require light of two different colors: red and blue, which is why aquarium lights often will exude a purple hue, as most of them provide both colors as an industry standard.

While it is essential to have the minimum amount of light in order to meet the xooxanthellae’s minimum requires for photosynthesis to work, it is also important to note that it has an upper limit tolerance as well. Your lights must therefore be in the middle or bad things will happen to both the zooxanthellae, and as a byproduct, the coral.

While not an exact science as how much or how little light depends on how many xooxanthellae reside in the coral, and that can be anywhere from thousands to millions, but a good place to start would be to ensure that your intensity minimum is 3000-lux and that you don’t go above 120,000-lux. While this may seem to be a quite wide and open range, you will have to make determinations base on the behavior of your coral.

Good quality types of lamps to use would include florescent, and you should use six lamps, or if your aquarium is not wide enough for that, then it is recommended that you instead utilize high output lamps, which are more expensive, but necessary. You should replace these bulbs every six months. Power compact florescent lamps, which are U-shaped, are an even better option, and you will only need four.

Coral is an excellent addition to any aquarium, and there are many fish that enjoy coral as a food source. Regardless if you have added coral to your aquarium to survive or as sustenance for your fish, you have to have the right lighting or it won’t survive.